Song for Dennis Brown
Song for Dennis Brown is the 11th song on the album The Sunset Tree. Lyrics On the day that Dennis Brown's lung collapsed Spring rain was misting down on Kingston And down at the harbor Local cops were intercepting an inbound shipment And for a while there it was chaos As they handcuffed and then roughed up some sailors On the day my lung collapses It's not gonna be much different On the day that Dennis Brown's habits caught up with him Schoolchildren sang in choirs And out behind the Chinese restaurants Guys were jumping into dumpsters And the stench was overbearing But they were past the point of caring On the day my habits catch up with me I'll be down among the jumpers And when the birds come home in spring We will fill them up with buckshot And jets of contaminated blood Will cloud the rivers and the lakes It took all the coke in town To bring down Dennis Brown On the day my lung collapses We'll see just how much it takes Comments by John Darnielle About this Song *"This is a song about a reggae singer who died. Well, it's ostensibly about him." -- 2005-07-04 - Fulton Mall Parking Garage - Brooklyn, NY *"This is a true story in, like, every sense of the word. Every sense of the word 'story.'" -- 2005-10-17 - Lee's Palace - Toronto, Ontario Things Referenced in this Song * Dennis Brown was a prolific reggae artist who died of a collapsed lung. He had a history of respiratory issues brought on by drug abuse. Live Shows this Song Was Played at *2005-03-23 - Emo's - Austin, TX *2005-04-28 - Will's Pub - Orlando, FL *2005-05-03 - The Black Cat - Washington, D.C. *2005-05-04 - First Unitarian Church - Philadelphia, PA *2005-05-05 - Knitting Factory - New York, NY *2005-05-07 - Northsix - Brooklyn, NY *2005-06-16 - KEXP Session - Seattle, WA *2005-06-18 - China Clipper - Olympia, WA *2005-06-19 - Neumo's - Seattle, WA *2005-07-04 - Fulton Mall Parking Garage - Brooklyn, NY *2005-09-13 - Manchester Lane - Melbourne, Australia *2005-10-13 - Open End Gallery - Chicago, IL *2005-10-17 - Lee's Palace - Toronto, Ontario *2005-10-18 - The Buffalo Icon - Buffalo, NY *2005-10-20 - Uptown Theatre - Washington, PA *2005-10-23 - Lunt Hall Basement Haverford College - Haverford, PA *2005-10-29 - Bowery Ballroom - New York, NY *2005-10-31 - Knitting Factory - New York, NY *2006-08-10 - 40 Watt Club - Athens, GA *2006-09-26 - Middle East Downstairs - Cambridge, MA *2006-12-31 - Falls Festival - Lorne, Australia *2007-01-05 - The Corner Hotel - Melbourne, Australia *2007-05-05 - Local 506 - Chapel Hill, NC *2007-09-20 - The Black Cat - Washington, D.C. *2008-03-20 - First Unitarian Church - Philadelphia, PA *2008-03-22 - The Black Cat - Washington, D.C. *2008-05-16 - Masonic Temple - Brooklyn, New York, NY *2008-12-14 - The Zoo - Brisbane, Australia *2009-03-24 - Pearl Street - Northampton, MA *2009-04-02 - Courtyard Café at University of Illinois - Champaign, IL *2009-10-09 - Paradiso - Amsterdam, The Netherlands *2009-10-11 - Ruby Lounge - Manchester, England *2009-10-13 - Point Ephemere - Paris, France *2009-10-15 - Magnet - Berlin, Germany *2009-11-04 - Ladies Literary Club - Calvin College - Grand Rapids, MI *2009-11-06 - High Noon Saloon - Madison, WI *2009-11-07 - Cedar Cultural Centre - Minneapolis, MN *2009-11-11 - Wonder Ballroom - Portland, OR *2009-11-14 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA *2009-11-15 - Henry Fonda Theater - Los Angeles, CA *2009-11-19 - Granada Theater - Dallas, TX *2009-11-20 - Mercy Lounge - Nashville, TN *2009-11-21 - Variety Playhouse - Atlanta, GA *2009-11-27 - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C. *2009-11-28 - Theater of the Living Arts - Philadelphia, PA *2009-11-29 - Wilbur Theatre - Boston, MA *2009-12-01 - Webster Hall - New York, NY *2009-12-02 - Bell House - Brooklyn, NY *2010-03-11 - Memorial Union Building - University of New Hampshire - Durham, NH *2010-03-14 - The Social - Orlando, FL *2010-04-13 - Manning Bar - Sydney, Australia *2010-05-31 - Sasquatch Music Festival - George, WA *2010-06-04 - Neurolux - Boise, ID *2010-06-08 - Edmonton Event Centre - Edmonton, Alberta *2011-04-03 - The Opera House - Toronto, Ontario *2011-05-27 - Manchester Academy 3 - Manchester, England *2011-07-28 - Meadowbrook Pavilion - Gilford, NH *2012-01-22 - Central Square Records - Seaside, FL *2012-02-03 - The Blind Tiger - Greensboro, NC *2012-06-22 - Rio Theater - Vancouver, British Columbia *2012-06-23 - Columbia City Theater - Seattle, WA *2013-06-07 - Center Church on the Green - New Haven, CT *2014-06-07 - Kilby Court - Salt Lake City, UT *2015-04-03 - The Grey Eagle - Asheville, NC *2015-04-08 - 9:30 Club - Washington, D.C. *2015-04-11 - City Winery - New York, NY *2015-04-14 - House of Blues - Boston, MA *2015-04-17 - Majestic Theatre - Detroit, MI *2015-05-08 - Shaky Knees Festival - Atlanta, GA *2015-06-02 - Great American Music Hall - San Francisco, CA *2015-10-04 - Saturn - Birmingham, AL *2015-10-05 - 40 Watt Club - Athens, GA *2015-10-08 - The Beacham Theatre - Orlando, FL *2016-04-13 - City Winery - Chicago, IL *2016-04-18 - City Winery - New York, NY *2016-07-23 - Wicker Park Festival - Chicago, IL *2016-09-02 - Ace of Cups - Columbus, OH *2016-09-03 - Mr. Small's - Millvale, PA *2016-09-20 - Jefferson Theater - Charlottesville, VA *2016-09-22 - Buskirk-Chumley Theatre - Bloomington, IN *2016-09-23 - Castle Theatre - Bloomington, IL *2016-09-27 - Pabst Theater - Milwaukee, WI *2016-09-28 - Majestic Theater - Madison, WI *2016-11-12 - Jam Room Music Festival - Columbia, SC *2017-04-01 - Bond Brothers Beer Company - Cary, NC *2017-04-07 - Fowlers Live - Adelaide, Australia *2017-04-09 - The Factory Theatre - Sydney, Australia *2017-04-11 - The Toff in Town - Melbourne, Australia *2017-04-12 - The Corner Hotel - Melbourne, Australia *2017-10-17 - John Dee - Oslo, Norway *2017-12-04 - Harvester Performance Center - Rocky Mount, VA *2018-04-18 - Higher Ground Ballroom - South Burlington, VT *2019-08-08 - The Broadberry - Richmond, VA *2019-09-05 - Neumo's - Seattle, WA *2019-09-12 - The Fillmore - San Francisco, CA *2019-09-14 - Belasco Theater - Los Angeles, CA Videos of this Song *2009-10-11 - Ruby Lounge - Manchester, England *2009-11-06 - High Noon Saloon - Madison, WI *2009-11-19 - Granada Theater - Dallas, TX *2010-05-31 - Sasquatch Music Festival - George, WA *2012-01-22 - Central Square Records - Seaside, FL Category:The Sunset Tree songs Category:Come, Come to the Sunset Tree songs Category:Video